Do you know about the 3d printer?not yet

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes).

3D printing is usually performed by a materials printer using digital technology. Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially.[3]

The technology is used in jewellery, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields.
Product Round-up You may not know why but you probably want a 3D printer. These are intrinsically cool devices: A mix of engineering, electrical engineering, material science, chemistry, electronics and software.

As an emerging technology you need to understand a bit of all of these to get the most from a hobbyist device, just as early computer users needed to be competent with a soldering iron and writing assembly code. Here we look at ten of the most interesting 3D printers around. There is a mix of technologies, and some are not yet shipping, but it goes to show just how diverse this nascent industry is.

3D Touch 3D printer

This is an extruder-type printer that does Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) using ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It’s unusual in that it is quite good looking and has up to three heads, meaning it can print in three colours of plastic at a time. The extruders use a screw mechanism and the heat comes from the platform. Colours are “spot” colours and they cannot be mixed. Files are printed from a USB stick and there is a touchscreen user interface. It is beautifully finished in stainless steel and aluminium, and is particularly targeted at education. The device has an exceptionally print area of 27.5x 27.5x 21cm.
Steampunk styling and aluminium construction give this Polish printer a special feel, with the exposed parts adding to the design rather than making it look unfinished. The handle on the top makes it transportable rather than portable. Individual parts seem particularly well finished, and an innovation is the self-tensioning belts. As an FDM printer it uses ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It will print models of up to 20 x 26 x 18cm albeit slowly at 100mm/minute. Two nozzles are available in 0.3mm and 0.5mm. These machines have been shipping since summer 2012.The technology behind 3D printing has allowed users to craft musical instruments and prosthetic limbs, and now European scientists are taking a serious look at printing their own moon base.

The European Space Agency (ESA) study is investigating how practical constructing a manned base on the moon only using 3D printing technology could be, given that it would rely primarily on lunar dirt for building materials.

"Terrestrial 3D printing technology has produced entire structures," Laurent Pambaguian, who heads the project for ESA, said in a statement. "Our industrial team investigated if it could similarly be employed to build a lunar habitat."

A moon base with style
"As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials," Xavier De Kestelier of Foster + Partners said in a statement. "Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic."

Foster + Partners' 3D printed design is a simple four-person moon base that can be made completely out of repurposed moon dirt, which scientists call "regolith."

Because the entire design is made primarily from indigenous lunar materials moon, there is no need to transport costly materials from the Earth into space. The base would be built using a robotic printer roving over an inflatable dome.

"3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth," Scott Hovland of ESA’s human spaceflight team said. "The new possibilities this work opens up can then be considered by international space agencies as part of the current development of a common exploration strategy."

Hollow moon dirt walls

The base would have a cell-like but strong frame resembling the structure of bird bones that will protect lunar residents from gamma radiation and micrometeorites that could destroy a less robust build.

ESA and the agency's partners have already built part of the base. Using a mixture of silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron and magnesium oxides meant to simulate surface of the moon. The team has started printing various structures inside a vacuum chamber.

This isn't the first time a space agency has considered 3D printing a lunar base . Last year, NASA officials challenged researchers at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. to 3D print the ceramic-like simulated lunar regolith into smooth, cylindrical shapes to test the strength of the material.

Foster + Partners is also partnering with other firms to build the first private spaceport in the world. Known as Spaceport America, the $209 million base will serve as a hub for commercial spaceflight. The spaceport should be completed later this year.